Method, system and program products for managing I/O configurations of a computing environment

ABSTRACT

Input/output (I/O) configurations of a computing environment are managed. This management includes dynamically adjusting an I/O configuration, when it is determined that such an adjustment is needed or desired. In order to make the adjustment, a channel path is selected from a plurality of channel paths. The selection of the channel path to be used in the adjustment is based on one or more characteristics associated with the channel path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application contains subject matter which is related to the subjectmatter of the following applications, each of which is assigned to thesame assignee as this application and filed on the same day as thisapplication. Each of the below listed applications is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety:

“Dynamically Redistributing Shareable Resources Of A ComputingEnvironment To Manage The Workload Of That Environment,” Kubala et al.,Ser. No. 09/408,470, filed Sep. 28, 1999;

“Method, System And Program Products For Managing Groups Of PartitionsOf A Computing Environment,” Kubala et al., Ser. No. 09/407,391, filedSep. 28, 1999;

“Method, System And Program Products For Managing Central ProcessingUnit Resources Of A Computing Environment,” Eilert et al., Ser. No.09/407,212, filed Sep. 28, 1999;

“Method, System And Program Products For Managing Logical Processors OfA Computing Environment,” King et al., Ser. No. 09/407,594, filed Sep.28, 1999;

“Processing Channel Subsystem Pending I/O Work Queues Based OnPriorities,” Maergner et al., Ser. No. 09/407,459, filed Sep. 28, 1999;

“Method, System And Program Products For Determining I/O ConfigurationEntropy,” William J. Rooney, Ser. No. 09/407,453, filed Sep. 28, 1999;

“Method And Apparatus For Assigning Resources To Logical PartitionClusters,” Rooney et al., Ser. No. 09/407,810, filed Sep. 28, 1999; and

“Method And Apparatus For Creating And Identifying Logical PartitionClusters,” Rooney et al., Ser. No. 09/407,514, filed Sep. 28, 1999.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates, in general, to managing workload within acomputing system, and, in particular, to managing workload in apartitioned system, such as a logically partitioned system.

BACKGROUND ART

Logical partitioning allows the establishment of a plurality of systemimages within a single physical machine or central processor complex(CPC). Each system image is capable of operating as if it was a separatecomputer system. That is, each logical partition can be independentlyreset, initially loaded with an operating system that may be differentfor each logical partition, and operate with different software programsusing different input/output (I/O) devices.

Examples of logically partitioned computing systems are described in,for instance, Guyette et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,903, entitled“Partitioned Multiprocessor Programming System”, issued on Jan. 14,1986; Bean et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,541, entitled “Logical ResourcePartitioning Of A Data Processing System”, issued on Jun. 27, 1989; andKubala, U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,040, entitled “Method And Apparatus ForProviding A Server Function In A Logically Partitioned HardwareMachine”, issued on Oct. 8, 1996, each of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Commercial embodiments of logically partitioned systems include, forexample, IBM S/390® processors with the Processor Resource/SystemsManager™(PR/SM™) feature, which is described, for instance, in the IBMpublication Processor Resource/Systems Manager Planning Guide,GA22-7236-04, March 1999, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

One important aspect of a logically partitioned system is the managementof workload running within the partitions of that system. In S/390systems, for example, workload managers are used to manage the workloadwithin and among the partitions. The workload managers attempt tobalance the workload of the partitions by moving work to the physicalresources of the system. In order to move the work, however, it isimportant to ensure that the data needed by the relocated work is at themoved location. This need often restricts the movement of work. Thus,although efforts have been made to balance workload within a logicallypartitioned system, further needs exist and further efforts are needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantagesare provided through the provision of a method of managing input/output(I/O) configurations of a computing environment. The method includes,for instance, selecting a channel path from a plurality of channel pathsto be used in adjusting an I/O configuration of a computing environment.The selecting is based on one or more characteristics associated withthe channel path. The I/O configuration is dynamically adjusted usingthe selected channel path.

In one example, the one or more characteristics include at least one ofan impact on response time, an impact on response time to achievespecific workload goals, contention on a subsystem of the I/Oconfiguration, availability characteristics of the channel path, andcomplexity of the resulting I/O configuration.

Systems and computer program products corresponding to theabove-summarized methods are also described and claimed herein.

Advantageously, at least one aspect of the present invention enablesdynamic changes to be made to the I/O configurations in order to moveavailable I/O resources to where it is needed or desired, without humanintervention. This reduces the skills required for configuring I/O, andenhances overall system availability, maximizes utilization of installedchannels and uses the relative priorities of workloads to distributeavailable I/O capacity. Further, the dynamic management capability ofthe present invention advantageously interfaces with one or moreworkload managers to identify high priority work, and to ensure that thehigh priority work gets the resources required to achieve its goals.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the inventionare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, andadvantages of the invention are apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 a depicts one example of a computing environment incorporatingand using the capabilities of the present invention;

FIG. 1 b depicts a further embodiment of a computing environmentincorporating and using the capabilities of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts additional components of a computing environmentincorporating and using the capabilities of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts one example of logical partition groups used inaccordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGS. 4 a-4 b depict one example of the logic associated with apartition joining a group, in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 depicts one embodiment of the logic associated with removing apartition from a group, in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of the logic associated with determiningif a partition's weight can be increased to help a receiver serviceclass of the partition, in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 depicts one embodiment of the logic associated with dynamicallyadjusting the configuration of logical processors, in accordance withthe principles of the present invention;

FIG. 8 depicts one embodiment of a channel subsystem incorporating andusing one or more capabilities of the present invention;

FIG. 9 depicts one embodiment of the logic associated with selecting anI/O operation to be processed, in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 depicts one embodiment of the logic with determining whether anI/O configuration is to be adjusted, in accordance with the principlesof the present invention;

FIG. 11 depicts one embodiment of the logic associated with the datagathering of FIG. 10, in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 depicts one embodiment of the logic associated with the balancechecking of FIG. 10, in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 13 a-13 b depict one embodiment of the logic associated withcorrecting an imbalance of a I/O configuration, in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 14 depicts one embodiment of the logic associated with determiningeffected subsystems, in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 depicts one embodiment of the logic associated with setting anexplicit I/O velocity target used in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention; and

FIGS. 16 a-22 c depict various examples of I/O configurations used indetermining entropy, in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Workload management capabilities are provided that enable the dynamicadjustment of the allocation of resources of a computing environment tobalance the workload of that environment. In one example, the computingenvironment includes a plurality of logical partitions and the workloadis managed across two or more of the partitions.

One embodiment of a computing environment incorporating and using theworkload management capabilities of the present invention is describedwith reference to FIG. 1 a. A computing environment 100 is based, forinstance, on the Enterprise Systems Architecture (ESA)/390 offered byInternational Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. ESA/390 isdescribed in an IBM publication entitled “Enterprise SystemsArchitecture/390 Principles Of Operation,” IBM Publication No.SA22-7201-04, June 1997, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. One example of a computing environment basedon ESA/390 is the 9672 Parallel Enterprise Server offered byInternational Business Machines Corporation.

Computing environment 100 includes, for example, a central processorcomplex (CPC) 102 having one or more central processors 106 (e.g.,CP1-CP4), one or more partitions 108 (e.g., logical partitions(LP1-LP4)), and at least one logical partition manager 110, each ofwhich is described below.

Central processors 106 are physical processor resources that areallocated to the logical partitions. In particular, each logicalpartition 108 has one or more logical processors (not separately shownfor clarity), each of which represents all or a share of a physicalprocessor 106 allocated to the partition. The logical processors of aparticular partition 108 may be either dedicated to the partition (sothat the underlying processor resource 106 is reserved for thatpartition) or shared with another partition (so that the underlyingprocessor resource is potentially available to another partition).

In the particular example shown, each of logical partitions LP1-LP4functions as a separate system having a resident operating system 112(which may differ for each logical partition) and one or moreapplications 114. In one embodiment, operating system 112 is the OS/390™or MVS/ESA™ operating system offered by International Business MachinesCorporation.

Additionally, each operating system (or a subset thereof) includes aworkload manager 116 for managing the workload within a partition andamong partitions. One example of a workload manager is WLM offered byInternational Business Machines Corporation. WLM is described in, forinstance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,773, Aman et al., entitled “Apparatus AndMethod For Managing A Data Processing System Workload According To TwoOr More Distinct Processing Goals”, issued Dec. 5, 1995; and U.S. Pat.No. 5,675,739, Eilert et al., entitled “Apparatus And Method ForManaging A Distributed Data Processing System Workload According To APlurality Of Distinct Processing Goal Types”, issued Oct. 7, 1997, eachof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Logical partitions 108 are managed by logical partition manager 110implemented by microcode running on processors 106. Logical partitions108 (LP1-LP4) and logical partition manager 110 each comprise one ormore programs residing in respective portions of central storageassociated with the central processors. One example of logical partitionmanager 110 is PR/SM.

In a further embodiment of a computing environment, two or more centralprocessor complexes are coupled to one another to form a sysplex, asdepicted in FIG. 1 b. As one example, a central processor complex (CPC)102 is coupled to one or more other CPCs 120 via, for instance, acoupling facility 122.

In the example shown, CPC 120 includes a plurality of logical partitions124 (e.g., LP1-LP3), which are managed by a logical partition manager126. One or more of the logical partitions includes an operating system,which may have a workload manager and one or more application programs(not shown in this example for clarity). Additionally, CPC 120 includesa plurality of central processors 128 (e.g., CP1-CP3), the resources ofwhich are allocated among the plurality of logical partitions. Inparticular, the resources are allocated among one or more logicalprocessors 130 of each partition. (In other embodiments, each CPC mayhave one or more logical partitions and one or more central processors.)

Coupling facility 122 (a.k.a., a structured external storage (SES)processor) contains storage accessible by the central processorcomplexes and performs operations requested by programs in the CPCs. Thecoupling facility is used by various aspects of the present inventionfor the sharing of state information used in making shared resourceredistribution decisions. (In one embodiment, each central processorcomplex is coupled to a plurality of coupling facilities.) Aspects ofthe operation of a coupling facility are described in detail in suchreferences as Elko et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,739 entitled “Method AndApparatus For Coupling Data Processing Systems”, issued May 31, 1994;Elko et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,809, entitled “In A MultiprocessingSystem Having A Coupling Facility Communicating Messages Between TheProcessors And The Coupling Facility In Either A Synchronous OperationOr An Asynchronous Operation”, issued Oct. 1, 1996; Elko et al., U.S.Pat. No. 5,706,432, entitled “Mechanism For Receiving Messages At ACoupling Facility”, issued Jan. 6, 1998; and the patents andapplications referred to therein, all of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

In one embodiment, one or more of the central processors are coupled toat least one channel subsystem, which is used in communicating with I/Odevices. For example, a central processor 200 (FIG. 2) is coupled tomain storage 202 and at least one channel subsystem 204. Channelsubsystem 204 is further coupled to one or more control units 206. Thecontrol units are then coupled to one or more I/O devices 208.

The channel subsystem directs the flow of information between theinput/output devices and main storage. It relieves the centralprocessing units of the task of communicating directly with theinput/output devices and permits data processing to proceed concurrentlywith input/output processing. The channel subsystem uses one or morechannel paths 214 as communication links in managing the flow ofinformation to or from input/output devices 208.

Each channel path 214 includes, for instance, a channel 210 of channelsubsystem 204, a control unit 206 and a link 212 between the channel andcontrol unit. In other embodiments, a channel path may have multiplechannels, control units, and/or links. Further, in another example, itis also possible to have one or more dynamic switches as part of thechannel path. A dynamic switch is coupled to a channel and a controlunit and provides the capability of physically interconnecting any twolinks that are attached to the switch. Further details regarding channelsubsystems are described in Casper et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,484,entitled “Method And System For Pipelining The Processing Of ChannelCommand Words,” issued on Jun. 11, 1996, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

In one aspect of the present invention, various physical resources aredynamically redistributed across the logical partitions of a computingenvironment under direction of one or more workload managers. Thisdynamic redistribution is transparent to the application subsystems. Asexamples, the physical resources to be redistributed include CPUresources, logical processor resources, I/O resources, coprocessors,channel resources, network adapters, and memory resources. As oneexample, a coprocessor is a microprocessor (other than a CPU) within aCPC that serves a particular function. Examples of coprocessors include,for instance, channel subsystems, network adapter cards andcryptographic coprocessors. The above physical resources are onlyoffered as examples. Other shareable resources may also be redistributedwithout departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In order to facilitate the dynamic redistribution of resources, in oneembodiment, logical partitions are grouped together in order to sharethe resources among the partitions of the group. Each group can vary insize from 1 partition to n partitions. (In one example, one or more ofthe groups include one or more partitions, but less than all of thepartitions of the computing environment.) In particular, each groupincludes, for instance, one or more operating system images running inindependent domains of a machine, which are managed by a common workloadmanager function to distribute workloads and resources. In one example,these domains are logical partitions running in logically partitionedmode and the operating systems are OS/390 running in the logicalpartitions. The logical partitions of a group may be a subset of thepartitions of a system (e.g., a CPC) or a sysplex, an entire system orsysplex, or may be partitions of different sysplexes (on, for example, asingle CPC) or systems.

One embodiment of two logical partition groups (or clusters) of acentral processor complex is depicted in FIG. 3. As shown, there is aLogical Partition Group A 300 and a Logical Partition Group B 302, eachof which includes one or more logical partitions. The grouping oflogical partitions enables resource sharing among the partitions of agroup through resource allocation (e.g., priority based resourceallocation).

As examples, the resources to be shared include CPU resources, I/Oresources, and memory, as well as co-processors or any other shareableresources the machine might provide. A particular logical partitiongroup may or may not have access to all of the resources of a particularmachine. In fact, multiple logical partition groups could be defined tooperate concurrently on a single machine. In order to manage eachlogical partition group effectively, the resources that make up aparticular logical partition group are effectively scoped to that group.

The scoping includes identifying which resources are allocatable to eachgroup. In particular, the scope defines which resources are restrictedto the group and can be managed for the group. The logical partitionsthat make up a logical partition group can be thought of as a containerof the resources. These containers exist within the bounds of a totalset of resources available to the logical partitions. In one example,this is the total set of resources available on a particular CPC.

The logical partitions that make up a particular logical partition group(e.g., Logical Partition Group A) are assigned a particular portion ofthe total shareable resource. For example, assume that the shareableresource is a CPU resource. With shared CPU resources, the logicalpartitions that are included in Logical Partition Group A are assigned aparticular portion of the total central processor complex CPU resource.These resources are being shared by the logical partitions within aparticular group, as well as, potentially, with logical partitions inother logical partition groups and logical partitions not included inany logical partition groups. Thus, a workload manager that is trying tomake decisions about moving resources within a group (from, forinstance, one partition in the logical partition group to anotherpartition in the group) is to have an understanding of the resourcesthat comprise the group, as well as an understanding of what the largercontainer (e.g., the CPC) contains. Measurement feedback (e.g., stateinformation stored in the coupling facility) used to make decisionsabout managing workload resources are to be sufficient to understand thecustomer defined containers as above.

Once this understanding is established, workload manager directedchanges to the resource allocations in the logical partitions of a givengroup are typically done in such a way that keeps the container size(i.e., the resources allocated to the logical partition group) constant.For instance, assume that the resource to be managed is the CPUresource, and further assume that each logical partition is assigned aCPU processing weight that indicates priority. In order to manage theCPU relative weights, the sum of the relative weights for the logicalpartitions in a given group are to remain constant before and after thedirected change, via, for instance, workload manager. This maintains thecustomer specified allocation of the resources to the groups and otherlogical partitions present on the machine.

Notwithstanding the above, in some cases it may be desirable andpossible for the group of partitions to utilize resources greater thanthe defined container, when those resources are not being used by theirdesignated owners. However, as soon as contention for the resourcesoccurs, the resources are managed by the LPAR manager according to thedefined container sizes (e.g., processing weights in this example).There may, however, be other cases when the group should not be allowedto expand beyond its container. This is also possible with scoping.Other resources may need to be fully scoped to a single group in orderto get an accurate picture of usage of the resources. Limiting in thisfashion prevents logical partitions outside of a given group fromaccessing that resource.

In addition to the above, consideration is also given to the effect ofexternal changes to the availability of resources within a logicalpartition group. For example, a user may change the allocation ofresources via some external means (not under workload managerdirection). This might be done because of a change in actual workloadsthat are on a machine or a shift in business priorities between groupsand/or other logical partitions. When these changes are made, thesechanges are to be understood by the workload manager and the effects ofthese changes are to be distributed rationally. Changes might occur whena logical partition is added or removed from a group; when some otherlogical partition outside the group is added or removed; or simply, whena processing weight change is done via external means. When theseexternal changes are performed, the size of the container can change andworkload manager is now the manager of that newly sized container.

When resources attributed to a particular logical partition of a groupare changed externally, the redistribution of resources within a groupmay be needed. For instance, when a logical partition is removed from agroup, the processing weight associated with that logical partition isremoved from the group. If the current workload manager assigned weightfor the logical partition is greater than the logical partition's weightthat is being removed (i.e., the processing weight associated with thelogical partition initially), the difference between these weights areadded to other logical partitions in the group. This is done, forinstance, in proportion to the existing distribution of weights in theother logical partitions in the group. If the current workload managerassigned weight for the logical partition is less than the logicalpartition's initial weight, the difference between these weights issubtracted from the other logical partitions in the group. Again, thisis done in proportion to the other logical partition weight assignments,as one example.

As described above, a group is scoped in order to obtain a handle on theresources that are assigned to a group and the resources that areallowed to change, so that workload manager can make proper decisions ofwhat to do next. The scoping identifies the groups and providesinformation back to the program that the program can understand. When agroup is modified, the resources are dynamically adjusted to satisfy themodification.

In one embodiment, there can be separate groups (clusters) for eachresource. For example, Logical Partition Group A may be for CPUresources, while Logical Partition Group B may be for I/O resources.However, in other embodiments, it is also possible that one logicalpartition group is for a subset or all of the resources.

In order to establish LPAR group scope, in one example, the logicalpartitions identify themselves to one or more groups of partitions. Oneembodiment of the logic associated with joining a group is describedwith reference to FIGS. 4 a-4 b. For example, to join a logicalpartition group, the operating system (e.g., OS/390) running in alogical partition indicates to the LPAR manager which LPAR group thelogical partition is to be a part thereof, STEP 400. As one example, aninstruction is used to pass the LPAR group name to the LPAR manager. Theoperating system specifies a name for each type of resource that is tobe managed within LPAR groups. Thus, if there are other resources,INQUIRY 402, then other names are specified. For example, a group nameis given for CPU resources and another name is given for I/O resources.The same LPAR group name can be specified for each resource type, ifdesired.

This declaration by OS/390 either establishes a new LPAR group on themachine (if the logical partition is the first logical partition to usethat name) or causes this logical partition to join an existing LPARgroup of the same name for that resource type. For example, once thegroup name is specified, STEP 404 (FIG. 4 b), a determination is made asto whether it is a new name, INQUIRY 406. If so, a new group is created,STEP 408. Otherwise, an existing group is joined, STEP 410. Thereafter,the resources are scoped to the group, STEP 412.

In particular, the resources of the group type that are bound to theLPAR group are now made available for that logical partition to utilize,if and when WLM running in the LPAR group determines it should. Theresources of a particular type for an LPAR group that need scopinginclude at least two varieties: additive resources and fixed resources.

-   -   Additive Resources: In some cases, joining an LPAR group        inherently adds resources to the LPAR group that the logical        partition just joined. An example of this is CPU processing        weight, which is, for example, assigned by the customer to a        logical partition at a hardware console. The current (in use)        processing weight of the logical partition is initialized from        this customer assigned weight, when the logical partition is        activated. When the logical partition joins an LPAR group for        CPU resources, the customer assigned processing weight for that        logical partition becomes part of the total processing weight        available for use within the LPAR group, and thus, can be        reassigned within the LPAR group by WLM. The logical partition        that just joined the LPAR group now has the potential to use the        larger set of LPAR group resources, in which a contribution to        was just made.    -   Fixed Resources: In some cases, a set of resources is predefined        as belonging to a particular LPAR group. An example of this is        managed (floating) channel paths. A managed channel path is a        channel path whose resources can be reassigned to help achieve        workload goals. The set of managed channel paths for use by a        particular LPAR group is initially defined via an I/O        configuration definition process that associates channel paths        (CHPIDs) with an LPAR group. When a logical partition joins this        LPAR group, it is now allowed access to this set of channel        paths. The logical partition itself did not contribute anything        to this resource pool. (This pool of resources can still be        changed dynamically, but the point is that the resources do not        come and go as logical partitions join and leave an LPAR group.)

LPAR scope can also be enforced differently for resources depending onthe type of resource.

-   -   Additive Resources: The operating system in an LPAR group is to        be able to query the complete set of resources of this type for        the LPAR group. As an example, for CPU processing weights, this        is accomplished via an instruction. The operating system learns        the total set of this resource type within the LPAR group, the        allocation of the resources to the logical partitions in the        group, and the complete size of the resource pool available on        the current machine. All these components are used to understand        how much of the total physical resource is to be allocated to a        logical partition. The operating system then updates the        allocations to the logical partitions in the LPAR group to        reassign resources within the group. The operating system is not        allowed, in one example, to change the total amount of resource        allocated to the LPAR group. The LPAR manager enforces this by        making sure that all parts of the LPAR group are accounted for        in an update and no logical partitions outside the LPAR group        have their resources affected.    -   Fixed Resources: The operating system in an LPAR group queries        the set of resources that is associated with its LPAR group for        this type of resource. For example, with managed channel paths,        a list of managed channel paths that are defined for a        particular LPAR group can be retrieved from the LPAR manager via        an instruction. The LPAR manager also screens these resources to        be sure they are only utilized by the proper LPAR group. For        managed channels, this means only allowing a managed channel        path to be configured online to a logical partition that has        declared an LPAR group name that matches that defined for the        managed channel path.

When a logical partition that is part of an LPAR group is system reset,re-IPLed, or deactivated, any affiliation that logical partition hadwith one or more LPAR groups is removed. One embodiment of the logicassociated with removing a logical partition from a group is describedwith reference to FIG. 5. As part of the resets, the logical partitionmanager removes a declared LPAR partition group name(s) from the logicalpartition, STEP 500. Then, one or more other actions are performed tocomplete the LPAR group resource deallocation for the logical partition,depending on the resource, INQUIRY 502.

If the resource is an additive resource, then the following occurs:resources such as this, that were added into an LPAR group when alogical partition joined the LPAR group, are removed from the LPARgroup, STEP 504. This may involve an adjustment in the currentallocation of this type of resource to the remaining members of the LPARgroup. For instance, in the case of processing weights, the initialprocessing weight for the logical partition leaving the group is nowremoved from the scope of the LPAR group. If WLM had changed the currentprocessing weight for the logical partition, adjustments need to bemade. If the logical partition's current processing weight is greaterthan its initial processing weight, the difference between the two isredistributed to the remaining LPAR group members in proportion to theircurrent processing weights. If the logical partition's currentprocessing weight is less than its initial processing weight, thedifference between the two is removed from the remaining LPAR groupmembers in proportion to their current processing weights. The result ofthese adjustments re-establishes what the processing weight container isfor the resulting LPAR group.

On the other hand, if the resource is a fixed resource, then thefollowing occurs: resources such as these are simply removed from theconfiguration of the logical partition being reset, STEP 506. Forinstance, for managed channel paths, the channel paths are deconfiguredfrom the logical partition being reset. This once again re-establishesthat only members of the LPAR group have access to the LPAR groupresource.

It should also be noted that some resources managed by WLM in an LPARgroup environment may not have a need for group scoping. One example ofsuch a resource is the number of logical central processors (CP) onlinefor a logical partition. The effective behavior of a particular logicalpartition in an LPAR group can be significantly influenced by the numberof logical CPs that are online to the logical partition. The number oflogical CPs that a logical partition can have defined and/or online is acharacteristic of a logical partition whether or not is it is in an LPARgroup, so this resource does not really become part of a larger pool ofresources. Its effect in an LPAR group though is that it can change whattype of workload can effectively be run in one LPAR group member versusanother.

In one example, a resource to be shared among a plurality of logicalpartitions is a CPU resource. In one aspect of the present invention,the OS/390 workload manager redistributes CPU resources across logicalpartitions by dynamically adjusting one or more relative processorweights associated with the logical partitions. WLM understands when animportant workload is delayed because the weight of the partition it isrunning within is too low. WLM can help this workload by raising theweight of this partition and lowering the weight of another partition,thereby providing additional CPU capacity to the important workload. CPUresources dynamically move to the partitions where they are needed, asworkload requirements change.

In one embodiment, the scope of WLM management of logical partitionweights is a logical partition group. As one example, WLM adjustslogical partition weights, but maintains the sum of the weights of thepartitions in the group constant. Maintaining the sum constant, keepsthe overall CPU resource allocated to the group the same relative toother independent groups on the same physical computer. Therefore, whenWLM raises the weight of one partition, it lowers the weight of anotherpartition in the same group.

The management of logical partition weights is an enhancement to WLM'sgoal oriented resource allocation techniques, which are described in,for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,773, Aman et al., entitled “ApparatusAnd Method For Managing A Data Processing System Workload According ToTwo Or More Distinct Processing Goals”, issued Dec. 5, 1995; and U.S.Pat. No. 5,675,739, Eilert et al., entitled “Apparatus And Method ForManaging A Distributed Data Processing System Workload According To APlurality Of Distinct Processing Goal Types”, issued Oct. 7, 1997, eachof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

As described in those patents, WLM controls the allocation of CPUresources within a logical partition by adjusting CPU dispatchingpriorities. CPU dispatching priorities are assigned to work at a serviceclass level. However, there are various situations in which theadjustment of dispatching priorities does not help the service class.For example:

-   -   1) The service class is already alone at the highest CPU        dispatching priority allowed to non-system work.    -   2) Changing CPU dispatching priorities to help the service class        will have too large a negative impact on other service classes        that are of equal or higher importance.

Thus, when WLM finds that a service class is missing its goals due toCPU delay, which cannot be helped by adjusting CPU priorities, WLMconsiders adjusting the weight of the partition associated with thefailing service class.

The service class to which WLM is considering allocating additionalresources is called the receiver service class. When WLM has found areceiver service class missing goals due to CPU delay on a givenpartition that cannot be helped for one of the reasons listed above, WLMconsiders raising that partition's weight. One embodiment of the logicfollowed by WLM to determine if a partition's weight can be increased tohelp the receiver service class is described as follows, with referenceto FIG. 6:

-   -   1. Project the effect on the receiver class of increasing the        weight of the partition, STEP 600. Increasing the partition's        weight increases the CPU capacity of the partition. Since the        CPU demand of the work in the receiver class is assumed to be        constant, increasing the CPU capacity of the partition decreases        the percentage of this capacity that the receiver service class        demands. The projection of the benefit to the receiver service        class is based on this decrease in the percentage of available        CPU capacity both the receiver service class and the other work        on the system demand.    -   2. Find another partition in the logical partition group to be a        candidate to have its weight lowered, STEP 602. This partition        is known as the candidate donor partition. The candidate donor        partition is chosen by, for instance, looking for the partition        where the least important work is likely to be impacted by        lowering the partition's weight.    -   3. Project the effect on all service classes with work running        on the candidate donor partition of lowering its weight, STEP        604. Decreasing the candidate donor partition's weight decreases        the CPU capacity of the candidate donor partition. This decrease        in CPU capacity means that the CPU demand of the service classes        with work running on the candidate donor as a percentage of the        capacity of the candidate donor will increase. The projection of        the negative effect of reducing the candidate donor's weight is        based on this increase in the percentage of available CPU        capacity that these service classes demand.    -   4. Determine if this change in weight has net value, INQUIRY        606. That is, the benefit to the receiver service class        overrides the negative impact to work on the candidate donor        partition based on the goals and importances of the service        classes involved.    -   5. If adjusting the weights does have net value, implement the        proposed change to the partition's weights, STEP 608. If there        is not net value, then a determination is made as to whether        there are more candidate donor partitions, INQUIRY 610. If so,        another candidate donor partition is chosen, STEP 612, and        processing continues at step 3, STEP 604. If there are no more        candidate donor partitions, then processing ends, STEP 614.

To enable WLM running on one partition to make a projection on theeffect of changing partition weights on work running on anotherpartition, each partition has access to a shared data structurecontaining performance data about each logical partition in the group.This partition level performance data includes, for instance:

-   -   CPU requirements of work running on the partition by service        class;    -   How well each service class is doing towards its goal on the        partition;    -   CPU usage by CPU dispatching priority for the partition.

In the OS/390 implementation of this invention, this shared datastructure is built and maintained in a coupling facility. However, otherdata sharing approaches could be used to implement this data structure,such as messaging or shared disk.

Described above is a capability for dynamically redistributing CPUresources of a computing environment. The resources are redistributedacross logical partitions, as one example, by dynamically adjustinglogical partition weights.

In addition to dynamically adjusting CPU resources of a computingenvironment, logical processor resources may also be dynamicallyadjusted, in another aspect of the present invention.

A logical partition is configured with one or more logical processors,which are dispatched on the central processor complexes' physicalcentral processing units to execute work. To allow a partition toconsume its assigned CPU capacity, sufficient logical processors are tobe configured to the logical partition. For example, consider the caseof Logical Partition A running on a CPC with ten CPUs. If a workloadmanager assigns Logical Partition A 50% of the CPC's capacity, LogicalPartition A needs at least five logical processors to be configured toit. (Five logical processors could run on five of the CPUs or 50% of theCPC's capacity.) Should Logical Partition A later be assigned 95% of theCPC's capacity, Logical Partition A would then be configured with tenlogical processors. Since WLM can dynamically adjust the capacityassigned to Logical Partition A with a statically defined logicalprocessor configuration, ten logical processors are configured toLogical Partition A in order to accommodate all possible capacityassignments. However, should Logical Partition A be assigned, forexample, only 20% of the CPC's capacity, two problems arise from thestatically defined logical processors: 1) Each of the ten logicalprocessors will, on average, be allowed to consume physical CPUresources at the rate of only 0.2 of a physical CPU's capacity (20% often CPUs divided by ten logical processors equals 0.2 CPUs per logicalprocessor). This can severely restrict workloads whose throughput isgated by a single task, since that single task will only be able toexecute at 0.2 the capacity of the physical CPU—this is often referredto as the short engine effect; 2) Software and hardware efficiency issignificantly reduced when having to manage ten logical processors, whenonly two logical processors are required.

In order to address the above deficiencies, the configuration of alogical partition is not statically defined, but instead is dynamicallyadjusted, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention. In oneexample, it is WLM that manages the partition and makes the dynamicadjustment. WLM can do this for each logical partition of a computingenvironment (or within an LPAR group). One embodiment of the logicassociated with dynamic adjustment of the configuration of logicalprocessors is described with reference to FIG. 7.

Initially, a logical partition is configured with the minimum number oflogical processors required to allow it to consume the capacity assignedto the logical partition by workload manager (or the capacity actuallybeing used, if larger), STEP 700. As the logical partition's capacityassignment (or capacity use) changes, INQUIRY 702, an evaluation is madeto determine whether the number of logical processors configured to thelogical partition should be altered, STEP 704. In one example, thenumber of logical processors configured to a logical partition remainsclose to the number of physical CPUs necessary to provide the CPCcapacity assigned to (or used by) a logical partition. Thus, eachlogical processor executes at close to the capacity of a physical-CPUand the number of logical processors to manage are minimized.

In order to make the evaluation of whether to change the logicalconfiguration, the following equation is used in one example:

L=floor[max(W,U)×P+1.5] subject to a maximum of L=P, where L=number oflogical processors configured to a logical partition; W=percentage ofCPC capacity assigned to the logical partition; U=percentage of CPCcapacity currently being used by the logical partition; and P=number ofphysical CPUs on a CPC, STEP 705.

L is evaluated by workload manager based on the then current values ofP,W and U at, for instance, regular and frequent intervals (e.g., every10 seconds). Thresholds are used to determine if the actual value of L(L-act) for the logical partition should be raised or lowered. If thenewly calculated value of L (L-calc) is higher than the current value ofL-act, INQUIRY 706, then L-act is raised to L-calc, STEP 708. Otherwise,if L-calc is a value of two or more lower than L-act, INQUIRY 710, thenL-act is set to L-calc minus one, STEP 712. If L-calc is equal to L-actor only a value of one below L-act, no change in the value of L-act forthe logical partition is made, STEP 714. Through the use of thesethresholds, unnecessary changes of L-act due to small workloadfluctuations is avoided, while still being responsive to quicklyincreasing capacity demands of workloads.

For further illustration, consider the following example: Assume P=10,W=U=24%. A static configuration of logical processors would requireL(static)=10 to handle the case should W grow greater than 90%. However,in accordance with this aspect of the present invention,L(Dynamic)=floor[max(0.24,0.24)×10+1.5]=³. Thus, in this example,L(static) would constrain a single task to execute at 0.24 of a physicalCPU, while L(Dynamic) allows a single task to execute at 0.80 of aphysical CPU, thereby providing a 233% increase in throughput forworkloads gated by single task performance. Additionally, the softwareand hardware efficiency is significantly improved due to this aspect ofthe present invention since, in this example, only three logicalprocessors are managed rather than the ten logical processors needed forL(static).

Another shareable resource of a computing environment to be managed, inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention, is an asynchronousresource, such as an I/O resource. In particular, I/O operations orrequests within a coprocessor (e.g., a channel subsystem) are to bemanaged. This management includes prioritizing the I/O operations, suchthat I/O operations with a higher priority get processed quicker, and/orI/O operations with a higher priority are assigned more bandwidth of thechannel.

In contemporary large scale multi-programmed computing systems, theinitiation and execution of long running processes, such as I/Ooperations for reading, writing, and controlling attached I/O devices,is typically accomplished by the use of several independently operatingcomputing elements (see FIG. 8). For example, a program executing in acentral processor 800 may request an I/O operation with an attacheddevice 804; however, the actual initiation and execution of the I/Ooperation with the attached device is carried out by one or moreseparate and independently executing processors working together,typically called a channel subsystem 802. The asynchronous I/Oprocessing methodology is generally employed in order to optimize andefficiently use the central processor for other work concurrently withthe execution of the relatively long running I/O devices. That is, tominimize the total processor overhead, processing time, and processorwait time that would otherwise be required in order to access and toread/write at the attached I/O devices. Such a methodology is designedto achieve maximum overlap, or concurrency of execution, of I/Ooperations with the execution of other processor work in a largemulti-programmed system.

In such asynchronous I/O processing systems, the central processorinitiates the execution of a program requested I/O operation by use ofan I/O instruction, such as the S/390 START SUBCHANNEL instruction. Suchan instruction is typically responsible for:

-   -   1. En-queuing (adding) the I/O operation request on a channel        subsystem I/O-work queue; and    -   2. Signaling the asynchronously executing channel subsystem to        process the I/O work queue.

Subsequently, the central processor is free to perform otherwork/instructions and is not directly involved in the actual executionof the requested I/O operations with the I/O device.

Due to 1) the asynchronous nature of the above process, 2) theindependent operation of the central processor and the channel subsystemprocessors, 3) the relatively long execution time of I/O operations incomparison to the execution speed of the central processors, and 4) thefact that some or all of the channel subsystem resources, such as thechannel paths which connect the device to the channel subsystem, may bebusy performing other operations when an I/O operation is requested by aprogram, it is highly probable that multiple I/O requests will beconcurrently en-queued on the channel subsystem I/O work queues. Thatis, the START SUBCHANNEL instruction is executed by the centralprocessors at a greater rate than the channel subsystem's ability tocarry out the requested I/O operations, thereby continually causingN-level deep I/O work queues of pending I/O operation requests.

In order to process the pending I/O requests, the micro-processors thatcomprise the channel subsystem inspect their respective I/O work queues(see FIG. 8), de-queue one or more I/O requests from these queues andattempt to initiate the de-queued I/O requests with their respective I/Odevices. The initiative for this activity depends on the microprocessorand work queues in question within the channel subsystem. For example,the channel subsystem I/O processor that interacts with the centralprocessor might initiate this process periodically when it is not busyperforming other work, as the result of one or more central processorSTART SUBCHANNEL signals, or a combination of both.

One example of the various work queues of a channel subsystem aredescribed with reference to FIG. 8. As previously mentioned, I/Orequests are en-queued on an I/O processor work queue 806 by, forinstance, the START SUBCHANNEL instruction. I/O requests are thende-queued from the I/O processor work queue by an I/O processor 808. Therequests that are de-queued from the I/O processor are en-queued by theI/O processor onto a channel processor work queue 810. Thereafter, thoserequests are de-queued by a channel processor 812 and en-queued onto acontrol unit work queue 814. The channel processor then de-queuesrequests from the control unit work queue to be sent via the channelpath to the control unit and ultimately to the I/O device.

Currently, within the S/390 product family of systems, channel subsystemde-queuing and work initiation processes are performed on a First-In,First-Out (FIFO) basis. This process is logically the simplest toimplement, is intended to optimize throughput, and has in the past, beenan acceptable strategy for work transfer between the variousasynchronous processing elements given that the average depth of thepending work queues is relatively shallow and that I/O work pendingtimes remain relatively short in duration (i.e., that the average numberof pending I/O requests on the various I/O work queues does not causesignificant elongation of the total I/O response time for I/O operationsassociated with high importance and/or real-time critical programs).

However, in operating systems that provide application/programprioritization functions in order to support user demands for timelyprocessing of critical or time dependent work, a FIFO processingstrategy for pending I/O requests becomes increasingly less acceptable,as the average depth of the FIFO work queues increases. For example,parallel access volumes used in conjunction with the IBM EnterpriseStorage Server increase the average queue depth in the channelsubsystem. This is typically due to the fact that lower importance orless time critical I/O requests may be queued ahead of the moreimportant requests on the FIFO work queues and would therefore beinitiated before the more critical I/O requests. Frequently, lesscritical work performs I/O which ties up resources for longer periods oftime, increasing the delay encountered by more important work. Thistypically results in an increased probability of delay for the moreimportant I/O requests.

An increase in delay time, also called I/O pending time (which might beeither total real-time delay or relative time delay when compared withthe central processor speed) is often due to the inability of thechannel subsystem and the attached devices to maintain a rate of I/Oexecution that does not impact the timely completion of the critical I/Orequests. (Said differently, the inability to maintain an execution ratethat does not result in an unacceptable elongation in the execution timeof the high importance/time critical programs). As stated above, theprobability of an unacceptable elongation in total I/O response time forcritical I/O requests generally increases when a FIFO work processingmethodology is used. This probability of delay is further magnified asthe speed and number of central processors increases at a greater ratethan the increase in speed of the attached I/O devices and otherrequired channel subsystem elements, such as the channel paths to whichthe devices are attached. In general, the disparity in the rate ofcentral processor speed increase over the rate of I/O speed increasecontinues to grow in contemporary large system environments resulting inincreasingly higher probability for queuing delays and larger I/Oresponse times (either real-time or relative time) for critical work.

In order to minimize the frequency of elongated I/O response times forhigh importance and time critical I/O operations, as examples, due toqueuing delays at the channel subsystem, a priority handling techniqueis defined for processing one or more of the channel subsystem pendingI/O work queues.

Examples of the implementation of a priority processing techniquebetween two independently executing processors or processes include thefollowing:

-   -   1. An en-queuing processor (or process) adds I/O requests to a        channel subsystem I/O work queue (the particular queue depends        on the stage of processing) using a priority sequencing        technique based on a program specified (e.g., by WLM) priority        number. The channel subsystem subsequently removes the first,        highest priority I/O request from the work queue, using a FIFO        technique; or    -   2. An en-queuing processor (or process) adds I/O requests to the        bottom of the I/O work queue, using a FIFO en-queuing technique.        The channel subsystem, using a priority selection technique,        subsequently searches all I/O request elements on the work queue        and removes and processes the I/O request with the highest        program specified priority number.

The FIFO en-queuing technique (technique #2) requires fewerinstructions, and therefore, allows the central processor to completethe I/O request scheduling process more quickly. This frees the centralprocessor to perform other work more quickly. For theen-queuing/de-queuing process between the various microprocessors thatcomprise the channel subsystem, the technique to choose typicallydepends on which of the participating processors is the most constrainedwith respect to its processing capacity and timeliness requirements.That is, if the en-queuing processor is the most constrained, then thesecond technique is chosen. If the de-queuing processor is the mostconstrained, then the first technique is typically chosen.

Regardless of which of these technique is employed, the result is thatthe channel subsystem gives preference to the initiation and executionof pending I/O requests based on a prioritization methodology, not atime-of-arrival or FIFO methodology.

Further, in one embodiment, regardless of the enqueuing and selectiontechniques employed, various criteria are used to prioritize and/orselect a request to be processed. In one example, these criteria includethe following:

-   -   1. The selection of pending I/O requests based on a program        specified priority number where each different number        corresponds to a unique priority level. For example, a range of        consecutive unique numbers is to be provided and the total range        of numbers is to be equal to or greater than the total number of        distinct work categories that require priority differentiation.        For example, if the system provides the ability to concurrently        execute N different operating systems, such as is possible with        a typical S/390 system, then the channel subsystem priority        techniques are to provide for N or more distinct priority        levels. Each priority level, from the lowest to the highest        level or vice versa, would be represented by a unique number in        the range of 0 to N−1.    -   2. The priority selection of pending I/O requests using a        technique that also applies “fairness” to all en-queued requests        regardless of their priority. This is typically desired in order        to minimize the probability of lower priority requests not being        processed for extended periods of time which could occur, for        example, due to a disproportionately large number of higher        priority requests being presented to the channel subsystem for        an extended period of time. Fairness selection might also be        applied to equal priority pending requests depending on other        considerations. For example, to provide fairness for pending        requests that have already been de-queued, unsuccessfully        initiated, and re-queued one or more times with other equal        priority requests that have not yet been selected. Such a        technique is described with reference to FIG. 9. This technique        applies both priority and fairness to a plurality of different        categories of pending requests.    -   3. External user/operator controls for:        -   1. Globally enabling/disabling the priority processing            techniques. This control may be required in order to force            FIFO processing of the pending requests, if the priority            techniques are unnecessary or unable to adequately            accommodate an atypical program execution environment.        -   2. For systems that provide the concurrent execution of            multiple logical partitions, an external control that allows            the user to specify a “default” priority value for I/O            requests associated with a given logical partition. This is            used when the operating system executing in the logical            partition is not designed to specify a priority value for            its I/O requests, but which is to nevertheless successfully            compete with other operating systems executing in other            logical partitions that do specify I/O prioritization.        -   3. For systems that provide the concurrent execution of            multiple logical partitions, an external control that allows            the user to specify a subset minimum and maximum range of            priority values for each logical partition, from the total            set of values provided by the channel subsystem. This            control is used when multiple operating systems executing in            separate logical partitions use I/O prioritization            independently and without knowledge of the other using            partitions. That is, to allow for priority based segregation            of the requests initiated by each using partition.

For items 3.2 and 3.3 above, in one embodiment, the central processorimplicitly assigns the user specified default priority value or the userspecified minimum/maximum allowed priority for the program executing inthe logical partition in a manner that is transparent to the programoperating in the partition. In S/390 systems, this can be accomplishedjointly by the logical partition manager (hypervisor) and the centralprocessor START SUBCHANNEL instruction.

When the program operating in the logical partition executes STARTSUBCHANNEL, in order to initiate an I/O operation, the interpretativeexecution of the START SUBCHANNEL instruction in the central processorimplicitly acquires both the default priority number and theminimum/maximum allowed priority numbers from a Start InterpretiveExecution (SIE) State Description (SD) table. This table is created andloaded into the central processor by the logical partition hypervisor,when it executes the SIE instruction in order to place the partitioninto an Execution State. The interpretative execution of STARTSUBCHANNEL then uses the SIE state description table default andmin./max. priority values to implicitly set the appropriate priorityvalue into the I/O request without involvement by the program operatingin the logical partition.

When a priority value is not specified by the program executing in thelogical partition, START SUBCHANNEL interpretation assigns the userspecified default priority value to the I/O request. When the programexecuting in a logical partition does specify a priority number when itexecutes START SUBCHANNEL, the interpretive execution of STARTSUBCHANNEL compares the program specified priority value with thehypervisor specified min./max. priority values in the state descriptiontable. When the program specified priority is less than the hypervisorspecified minimum value, the minimum value from the state descriptiontable implicitly replaces the program specified value. When the programspecified priority value is greater than the hypervisor specifiedmaximum priority, the maximum priority value from the state descriptiontable replaces the program specified value.

A priority selection technique can be devised using zero or more of theabove criteria. One embodiment of a technique for selecting a request tobe processed, which uses at least some of the above criteria, isdescribed with reference to FIG. 9.

Initially, a pending work queue is accessed, STEP 900. For example,either the I/O processor work queue, the channel processor work queue orthe control unit work queue is accessed. Thereafter, the count ofde-queued pending requests is incremented by one (e.g.,DQCOUNT=DQCOUNT+1), STEP 902.

Subsequently, a determination is made as to which category of pendingrequests is to be processed, STEP 904. In one example, the selectedcategory is equal to DQCount MODULUS the number of categories. Thus,since in this example there are four categories, the selected categoryequals DQCount MODULUS 4. If the result is 0, then the first request ofany priority is de-queued, STEP 906. However, if the selected categoryis 1, then the first highest priority request not previously de-queuedis selected, STEP 908. Further, if the selected category is 2, then thefirst highest priority request previously de-queued and unsuccessfullyinitiated is selected, STEP 910. However, if the result is 3, then thefirst any priority request not previously de-queued is selected, STEP912. Thereafter, the selected request is de-queued and processed, STEP914.

Described in detail above, is a prioritization mechanism forasynchronous requests within a coprocessor. Although the examples aredescribed with reference to I/O requests and channel subsystems, theseare only examples. The invention is equally applicable to otherasynchronous requests and coprocessors. Further, although the exampledescribed above is described with reference to queuing, a similarprioritization mechanism can be used to adjust the assignment ofresources (e.g., bandwidth) on the channel, which is capable ofconcurrently executing multiple operations, giving more of the channelresource to the higher priority operations, rather than everythingrunning equally.

Further, although various examples described herein are described withreference to a logically partitioned system, various aspects of thepresent invention, including but not limited to, the I/O prioritycapabilities of the present invention are useable within a system thatdoes not have or support logical partitions.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, the I/Oconfiguration (e.g., the channel path configuration) of a computingenvironment can be dynamically changed in order to move availablechannel resource to where it is needed or to remove excess channelresource, without human intervention. This reduces the skills requiredfor configuring I/O, enhances overall system availability, maximizesutilization of installed channels and uses the relative priorities ofworkloads to distribute available I/O capacity. In one embodiment, oneor more factors are looked at before making a change, in order todetermine the “best” change to make. These factors include, for example,the impact to the response time, or I/O velocity; the impact to theresponse time to achieve specific workload goals; the destination portbeing busy; the resulting availability characteristics (e.g., add pathswith no single points of failure in common); and the resultingcomplexity (or entropy) of the I/O configuration.

One embodiment of the logic associated with dynamically adjusting an I/Oconfiguration is described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10-14.Initially, base balance processing is invoked by, for instance, aworkload manager component of the computing environment at the start ofregularly scheduled time intervals, e.g., every 10 seconds. The functionof the base balance processing is to continuously balance the I/Ovelocity evenly across the subsystems (e.g., logical control units)(with floating (i.e., managed) channels defined); assure that alldevices can be accessed through two or more paths, preferably with nosingle points of failure in common; and rebalance subsystems after ahardware failure. This processing includes two components: datacollection, STEP 1000 (FIG. 10) and balance checking, STEP 1002. Datacollection is run once each interval within each logical partition ofthe environment (assuming the environment is logically partitioned orwithin each system if it was not logically partitioned); and balancechecking is only run once per interval per grouped LPAR (again, assuminggrouping).

Serialization of the data collection part of the processing is obtainedby the fact that WLM only invokes the base balance technique once perinterval in any one system. Additionally, version number checking isused when updating the collected information. For example, controlblocks stored within the coupling facility are serialized to update thecollected information. These control blocks enable a group level datacollection, which allows the management of channels across members of agroup on the same CPC.

In order to serialize the balance checking, serialization with a groupscope specifically for that purpose is used. Typically, when balance iscalled immediately after data collection, group-wide serialization isrequested. If the serialization is obtained, balance checking proceeds;if not, then balance checking is already occurring within the groupedLPAR, and need not run again during this interval.

The data collection processing of FIG. 10 is further described withreference to FIG. 11. In one embodiment, measurement data is collectedand updated, for each subsystem (e.g., logical control unit) defined,STEP 1100. The measurement data includes, for instance, connect time,pending time, subsystem busy, device busy, destination port busy time,and destination port busy counts. The updated measurement data is storedin control blocks within processor memory, along with control blockswithin shared memory, such as the coupling facility.

Subsequent to updating the measurement data, a default target I/Ovelocity for each subsystem is calculated, STEP 1102. The I/O velocityindicates whether additional channel bandwidth is needed or desired. Asone example, the default target I/O velocity is weighted by connecttime. In order to perform this calculation, the following steps aretaken, in one instance: For each subsystem managed by DCM, the currentor actual velocity is obtained, along with the amount of connect timeafforded that subsystem during the past interval. The I/O velocity isthen multiplied by the connect time to obtain a result. The results forthe subsystems are then added together to obtain a sum. The sum is thendivided by the total connect time in order to determine a default targetI/O velocity weighted by connect time.

Returning to FIG. 10, after performing the data gathering, balancechecking is performed as described herein, STEP 1002. One embodiment ofthe logic associated with balance checking is described with referenceto FIG. 12. Initially, serialization is performed to determine whetherbalance checking should be performed at this instance, INQUIRY 1200. Ifthe attempt to get group-wide serialization is unsuccessful, then thebalance checking logic is not performed, STEP 1202. However, ifserialization is obtained, then the subsystems are searched for thoseoutside their target range, STEP 1204.

For example, the actual I/O velocity is obtained for all of thesubsystems and then an average is taken. (In one example, only thosesubsystems managed by the dynamic CHPID management (DCM) are included inthe average.) Once the average is determined, a range is created. In oneexample, the range is, for instance, plus or minus 5% of the averagevalue. Thereafter, the target I/O velocity of each subsystem is comparedto the target range. If no target I/O velocity is specified, then thedefault target I/O velocity is used. As the result of the comparisons,two lists are created, STEP 1206. One of the lists includes thosesubsystems exceeding the target range and the other includes thosesubsystems missing the range. In each case, subsystems which have beenmodified recently (e.g., within the last 10 seconds) are excluded fromthe lists.

Thereafter, the list of missing targets is sorted, STEP 1208. In oneexample, WLM is used to sort this list, since WLM is in the position todetermine which subsystems are most important. Thus, WLM orders thesubsystems in the order in which WLM would like them serviced.

Subsequent to sorting the list, one or more of the subsystems on thelist are serviced by, for instance, shifting capacity from theunder-utilized subsystems to the over-utilized subsystems, STEP 1210. Asmany of the subsystems that can be serviced in the allotted time areadjusted.

One embodiment of the logic associated with adjusting the capacity isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 13 a-13 b. Initially, a subsystem isselected from the list, STEP 1300 (FIG. 13 a). In one example, it is thefirst subsystem on the list that is selected. Thereafter, adetermination is made as to whether it is the destination port busy thatis the problem, INQUIRY 1302. In particular, a determination is made asto whether the contention (e.g., destination port busy time) is high,and if it is, does it vary with respect to the various interfaces thatconnect thereto. If the destination port busy is high on all of theinterfaces, then it signifies that another channel path needs to beadded. However, if it is high on only one interface, then a channel pathis moved to another interface, STEP 1304. Thus, an existing path ismoved from the interface with excessive destination port busy time toanother interface, and processing continues with implementing thechange, STEP 1306 (FIG. 13 b).

Examples of how to implement the change are described in U.S. Pat. No.5,257,379, entitled “Establishing Synchronization Of Hardware AndSoftware I/O Configuration Definitions,” issued October 1993; U.S. Pat.No. 5,257,368, entitled “Method And Apparatus For Dynamic Changes ToSystem I/O Configuration,” issued October 1993; and U.S. Pat. No.5,220,654, entitled “Method And System For Managing An Operating SystemDefinition Of A Dynamically Modifiable I/O Configuration,” issued June1993, each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

After the change is implemented, a determination is made as to whetherthere are other subsystems that are not in the target range, INQUIRY1308. If not, then processing of the imbalance correction is complete.However, if other subsystems are not within the range, then processingcontinues with STEP 1300 “SELECT NEXT SUBSYSTEM IN THE LIST” (FIG. 13a).

Returning to INQUIRY 1302, if the problem is not due to contention, thenprocessing continues, as described herein.

In particular, in one example, the possible channel paths to be added tothe subsystem are determined, STEP 1310. This determination includeschecking within the physical topology all of the channels that can getto the particular subsystem, and then for each channel, determiningpossible ways (paths) to get to the subsystem. A path is a connectivitypermutation through the hardware elements connecting and include boththe channel and subsystem. All of these paths (or a subset, if sodesired) are included in the possible paths.

Similarly, a determination is made as to the possible paths to remove,STEP 1312. As one example, if there are multiple subsystems on the samechannel, then one of the paths connected to the sharing subsystem isconsidered a candidate for removal.

Thereafter, a determination is made as to which subsystems will beimpacted by the change, STEP 1314. Further, an entropy index indicatingthe complexity of a configuration to be changed is also determined, asdescribed below.

One embodiment of the logic associated with determining the effectedsubsystems is described with reference to FIG. 14. Initially, asubsystem control block (SSCB) list for subsystems and a CHPID list forchannels are cleared for use later on, STEP 1400. Thereafter, a channelpath id is retrieved from a decision selection block (DSB) associatedwith the proposed channel and is added to the CHPID list, STEP 1402. Inparticular, each path has a decision selection block associatedtherewith. The decision selection block is a control block that includesvarious information, including, for example, the id of the channel path(CHPID), a subsystem control block (SSCB) pointer indicating the logicalcontrol unit associated with the channel path, and an array of effectedSSCBs. Each SSCB includes all of the channels connected to thesubsystem.

Thereafter, all the CHPIDs associated with the SSCB to be assisted isalso added to the CHPID list, STEP 1404. In particular, the SSCB pointeris retrieved from the DSB which indicates the SSCB to be assisted. Allof the CHPIDs in the SSCB are then added to the CHPID list.

Thereafter, for each CHPID in the list, the SSCBs associated with thechannel path are added to the SSCB list, STEP 1406. In one example, thisinformation is obtained from a channel path table that indicates theSSCBs connected to each CHPID.

Subsequently, a determination is made as to whether any SSCBs were addedto the list, INQUIRY 1408. If so, then for each SSCB in the list, theCHPIDs not already in the CHPID list are added, STEP 1410, as describedabove with STEP 1404.

Thereafter, a further determination is made as to whether there were anyCHPIDs added to the list, INQUIRY 1412. If there were more CHPIDs addedto the list, then processing continues with STEP 1406. However, if thereare no SSCBs or CHPIDs added to the lists, INQUIRIES 1408, 1412, thenfor each SSCB in the list, a DSB array element is created, STEP 1414.That is, each of the SSCBs is added to the array of effected SSCBs.Additionally, each of the array elements is updated with actual andtarget I/O velocities, the current delta between the target and actualI/O velocities, and an SSCB pointer, STEP 1416.

Returning to FIG. 13 a, in addition to the above, the availability indexfor each path is calculated, STEP 1316. In one example, the availabilityindex is a number that indicates how many single points of failure theproposed path has in common with existing paths to the subsystem. If achannel path is to be added, then it is desired to have no single pointsof failure. If a channel path is to be deleted, then the path with themost single points of failure is typically chosen.

Subsequently, the impact to the effected systems is projected, STEP1318. In particular, in one example, the current load on each subsystemis looked at to determine how it will be different if the change ismade. Using this information, the best option is selected, STEP 1320. Inorder to select the best option, various factors may be consideredincluding, for instance, the following:

-   -   Which option moves the subsystem closest to target?    -   Which option provides the best availability?    -   Which option provides the best symmetry (least entropy)?    -   Will this option reduce the total number of paths below two?    -   Will this option violate any explicit targets (WLM can provide        explicit targets to be used instead of the default targets)?    -   Will this option violate any architectural limits?    -   Will this option violate the configuration as defined by the        installation?    -   Will this option attempt to use resources which are currently        unavailable?

In one particular example, initially, any decision selection blocks(DSBs) that cannot be implemented under any circumstances areeliminated. This would include, for example, those that violatearchitectural limits, those that reduce the total number of paths belowtwo, those that violate the configuration as defined by the installation(e.g., uses more than the maximum number of floating channel pathsallowed in the definition) and those that attempt to use resources whichare currently unavailable (e.g., those that attempt to use ports whichwere made unavailable.) (This function could be moved earlier in theprocessing, so that the availability index and projected impact tosubsystems is not calculated for DSBs which could never be selected.)

If there is currently only one path to the subsystem (possible shortlyafter system startup or after a failure), select a path with the bestavailability index. If more than one have equivalent availabilityindices, select the path that has the lowest entropy index that willmove the target subsystem within the target I/O velocity target. Ifthere are more than one, select the one whose total projected delta (“ΣProjected Delta” from the DSB) is smallest.

If there is currently more than one path to the subsystem, find the setof DSBs with the best availability index. Search that set for optionswhich get the target subsystem within the tolerance of the target I/Ovelocity and have the lowest entropy index. If there are more than one,select the one who's total projected delta (“Σ Projected Delta” from theDSB) is smallest.

If there is no such option, find the set of paths with the next bestavailability index, and try again.

If no options get the subsystem within the tolerance, select the onethat gets the subsystem closest to target, without regard for itsavailability index or entropy index. (The above described technique forselecting the best option is only one example. Various additions,deletions and modifications can be made without departing from thespirit of the present invention. Further, any other techniques may beused to select the best option.)

After attempting to select the best option, a determination is made asto whether the new target can be achieved without impacting subsystemswith explicit targets, INQUIRY 1322. In other words, is the best optiongoing to negatively impact the subsystems with explicit targets thatwere set by WLM. If so, then workload manager is invoked to choose theappropriate path, STEP 1324. Specifically, workload manager picks thepath and selects new targets for the donor.

Subsequently, or if the new target can be achieved without negativelyimpacting subsystems with explicit targets, the change is implemented,STEP 1306, and processing continues with a determination as to whetherother subsystems exist which are not in target range, INQUIRY 1308.

As stated above, WLM can set an explicit I/O velocity target, which isto be used instead of the default average I/O velocity target. In oneembodiment, WLM sets an explicit target, when WLM finds that the serviceclass is not meeting its goals. One embodiment of the logic associatedwith setting the explicit subsystem I/O velocity target is describedwith reference to FIG. 15.

Initially, a determination is made as to whether I/O is causing thebiggest delay, INQUIRY 1500. If not, then for purposes of this aspect ofthe invention processing is complete. However, if I/O is causing thebiggest delay, then I/O priority adjustment is attempted, STEP 1502.Thereafter, a determination is made as to whether the service class ismeeting its goals, INQUIRY 1504. If the service class is now meeting itsgoals, then processing is complete. However, if the service class isstill not meeting its goals, then a search is made for subsystems thatare being used by the service class and have a low I/O velocity, STEP1506. For one or more subsystems that are located, new subsystem I/Ovelocity targets are set. In one example, it is set by increasing thecurrent target by a defined amount and then projecting the impact on thesubsystem. If the impact is sufficient, (e.g., above a receiver value),then processing is complete. If not, the target is increased again, andthe processing is repeated.

Described in detail above is dynamic CHPID management (DCM) thatprovides for dynamic adjustment of I/O configurations. DCM isadvantageously integrated with WLM, which enables decisions to be madewith an understanding of workloads and goals. Further, DCM allowsmanagement of channels across multiple partitions (e.g., of a group ofpartitions). This enables the addition of resources where they areneeded, as well as the removal of excess resources.

As described above, with dynamic CHPID management (DCM), the “best”channel is selected to add to (or remove from) a subsystem. In order todo this, one or more attributes are examined, including, for instance,the complexity (or entropy) of the resulting I/O configuration.

Increased entropy causes the I/O configuration to become overlycomplicated, resulting in excessive time in DCM's processing, inaccurateresults due to excessive numbers of subsystems being impacted,complexity in performance reporting and complexity in problemdetermination. Thus, in one aspect of the present invention, acapability is provided to determine the relative entropy of differentchoices, so that the relative entropy can be considered along with otherconsiderations, such as I/O velocity and availability, when making achoice in how a configuration is to be adjusted.

In determining relative entropy, an entropy index is calculated. Forexample, in the case where a path is being added, the entropy index isthe sum of channels and subsystems in the resulting configuration.Further, in the case where a path is being deleted, the entropy indexreflects the set of channels and subsystems interconnected to the targetsubsystem after the path is deleted. It does not include channels andsubsystems that will no longer be in the set.

To calculate the degree of entropy for each option, the number ofchannels and subsystems that are connected together, assuming thedecision is implemented, is used. One basic premise of the entropytechnique is to calculate an index which enables a comparison of two ormore proposed topologies and a determination of which one is moresymmetric, or has less entropy. The purpose of this is to avoid largeinterconnected topologies, which are suspected will make the I/Ovelocity technique less accurate, and will make it harder for people toanalyze performance problems after the fact, due to overly complextopologies.

One embodiment of the entropy determination technique is described withreference to various examples. For instance, FIG. 16 a depicts oneexample of a configuration 1600 that includes two channels 1602connected to two subsystems 1604. If subsystem 22 needs additionalresource, it can obtain it from at least two places. It can eitherreceive it from channel 1 or channel 3. If it obtains it from channel 3,the resulting configuration now has three channels and two subsystems(FIG. 16 b). This gives the configuration an entropy index of five(3+2). If, however, subsystem 22 receives additional resource fromchannel 1 (FIG. 16 c), the resulting configuration has no more channelsor subsystems than it originally had, and the resulting entropy index istwo. In this example, the second option has the least entropy.

Consider another example. In the example depicted in FIG. 17 a,subsystem 23 needs additional resource. It can be obtained from channel2 or 4. If channel 2 is used, (FIG. 17 b) the resulting entropy index isfive (i.e., three channels interconnected to two subsystems in oneconfiguration; channel 4 is not counted, since it is not connected.) Ifchannel 4 is used (FIG. 17 c), the resulting index is three. Thus, thesecond option has the least entropy.

Next, consider cases where the configuration is split, to determine howthis effects entropy.

Referring to FIG. 18 a, if subsystem 23 has excess capacity, channel 2or 3 could be removed. If channel 2 is removed (FIG. 18 b), theconfiguration is split, and the entropy index of both configurationsgoes down. If channel 3 is removed (FIG. 18 c), there is still oneconfiguration, but with a lower entropy index than the original index.It appears that the decision that breaks the configuration, somewhat inhalf, results in two less complicated networks, and is the betterchoice, in one embodiment.

On a delete, if the index of the existing configuration (FIG. 19 a) isknown, as well as the index of the proposed configuration containing thesubsystem at hand (right side of FIG. 19 b), the index of the otherconfiguration (left side of FIG. 19 b) can be calculated by subtracting.In this example, the index of the other configuration is equal to 2(4−3=1 and 2−1=1, so 1+1=2). If the subtraction results in a zero forthe number of subsystems or channels, as in FIG. 19 c, then entropy hasbeen reduced without splitting the configuration. (E.g., 2 subsystems−2subsystems=0.) Splitting is preferred, in one embodiment.

In the following example, subsystem 23 has excess resource (FIG. 20 a).Channels 2 or 3 can be removed. If channel 3 is removed (FIG. 20 b), theresulting entropy index is 7. If channel 2 is removed (FIG. 20 c), theconfiguration is split into two configurations with the configuration athand (configuration with subsystem 23) having an entropy index of 5 andthe resulting second configuration having an entropy index at 3. In oneembodiment, splitting the configuration is preferred.

Further examples are now considered to determine if it is only desiredon a delete to look for a split, not the resulting entropy value.

In the example depicted in FIG. 21 a, subsystem 23 has too muchbandwidth. Either channel 2 or 4 can be removed. If channel 2 is removed(FIG. 21 b), a new entropy index of 6 is obtained, with the resultingsecond configuration's entropy index at 3. If channel 4 is removed (FIG.21 c), a new entropy index of 5 is obtained, with the resulting secondconfiguration's entropy index at 4. The configuration with entropyindices of 5 and 4 is the better choice. So the type of split doesmatter, in one embodiment.

In the example depicted in FIG. 22 a, subsystem 23 needs additionalresource. Subsystem 21 can be removed from channel 2 (FIG. 22 b), givingsubsystem 23 all of channel 2's resource; or subsystem 25 can be removedfrom channel 4 (FIG. 22 c), giving 23 all of channel 4's resource.

If subsystem 21 is removed from channel 2, the resulting entropy indexis 7, and that of the resulting second configuration is 2. If subsystem25 is removed from channel 4, the resulting entropy index is now 6, andthe resulting second configuration is 3. The second choice seems better,in one embodiment, because the split is closer to being even.

In order to calculate which option is closer to being in half (i.e.,“even”), determine the difference in the number of channels andsubsystems between the new entropy index and that of the resultingsecond configuration. In this example, the first choice results inentropy indices of 7 and 2, so the difference is 5 (i.e., the symmetryindex). The second choice results in entropy indices of 6 and 3, so thedifference is 3. The one with the lower difference is the best choice inthis embodiment.

To conclude, in one embodiment, options which do not move the subsystemcloser to the target I/O velocity are to be eliminated. Further, theentropy index is calculated by adding the total number of channels andsubsystems that are interconnected in the resulting configuration. Ifthe entropy index does not change, the change is symmetric. Theconfiguration with the lowest entropy index is typically selected. Avoidselecting a configuration with greater than eight channels, even if itmeans selecting one with a higher entropy index. If there is noalternative, select a configuration with greater than eight channels,and hopefully on the next interval the configuration will be split.

Although variations of the above embodiments are described withreference to I/O configurations, the capabilities of the presentinvention are equally applicable to other networks, such as storage areanetworks, as well as others.

Described above are various mechanisms for managing resources of acomputing environment. In one aspect of the invention, physicalshareable resources are managed across logical partitions of a computingenvironment. Further, in one embodiment, the logical partitions aregrouped to enable resource sharing through, for instance, priority basedresource allocations. This resource sharing includes, for example,dynamic management of CPU resources across LPARs; dynamic CHPIDmanagement across LPARs; I/O priority queuing in the channel subsystem;and dynamic management of memory across LPARs.

In one example, the workload manager of the system is at least partiallyresponsible for this management. The shareable resources are dynamicallyredistributed across the LPARs under workload manager directiontransparent to the application's subsystems. The resources are providedto the needed partitions based on monitoring activity and customers'goals. Additionally, the dynamic adjustment of physical resources inaccordance with workload goals via, for instance, WLM, sysplex and PR/SMintegration, is performed without needing parallel sysplex data sharing.

In the embodiments described above, various computing environments andsystems are described. These are only examples and are not intended tolimit the various aspects of the present invention. Further, variousaspects of the present invention are described with reference to logicalpartitions. The use of logical partitions is only one example. Aspectsof the invention will apply to other types of partitioning, as well asto non-partitioned systems. Thus, these are also considered within thescope of the present invention.

The present invention can be included in an article of manufacture(e.g., one or more computer program products) having, for instance,computer usable media. The media has embodied therein, for instance,computer readable program code means for providing and facilitating thecapabilities of the present invention. The article of manufacture can beincluded as a part of a computer system or sold separately.

Additionally, at least one program storage device readable by a machine,tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable bythe machine to perform the capabilities of the present invention can beprovided.

The flow diagrams depicted herein are just exemplary. There may be manyvariations to these diagrams or the steps (or operations) describedtherein without departing from the spirit of the invention. Forinstance, the steps may be performed in a differing order, or steps maybe added, deleted or modified. All of these variations are considered apart of the claimed invention.

Although preferred embodiments have been depicted and described indetail herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant artthat various modifications, additions, substitutions and the like can bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention and these aretherefore considered to be within the scope of the invention as definedin the following claims.

1. A method of managing input/output (I/O) configurations for a group oflogical partitions of a logical partition cluster of a computingenvironment, said method comprising: determining that said I/Oconfiguration is to be adjusted, wherein said determining comprisesusing one or more workload goals in making the determination, andwherein the one or more workload goals are associated with workloads ofa logical partition cluster, the logical partition cluster comprising agroup of logical partitions residing on a common physical processor ofsaid computing environment, the group of logical partitions of thelogical partition cluster cooperatively sharing resources of the logicalpartition cluster and having workloads and resources managed by one ormore cooperating workload managers, said determining comprisingautomatically consulting with the one or more cooperating workloadmanagers of said logical partition cluster of the computing environmentin making the determination, wherein said one or more workload goalscomprise for a workload executing within the group of logical partitionsof the logical partition cluster an expected completion time for theworkload and an importance of the workload relative to another workloadexecuting within the group of logical partitions of the logicalpartition cluster, and wherein the workload and the another workload areexecuting in one of the same logical partition or different logicalpartitions of the group of logical partitions of the logical partitioncluster; selecting a channel path from a plurality of channel paths tobe used in adjusting I/O configuration of the logical partition clusterof said computing environment, said selecting being based at least inpart on an I/O velocity resulting from selecting the channel path; anddynamically adjusting said I/O configuration using the selected channelpath, wherein said dynamically adjusting comprises dynamicallyconnecting the selected channel path to a subsystem of said I/Oconfiguration, said selected channel path and said subsystem beingassociated with the workload executing within the group of logicalpartitions of the logical partition cluster of said computingenvironment, and wherein the dynamically adjusting provides additionalresources to said workload, wherein said selected channel path wasremoved from the another workload executing within the group of logicalpartitions of the logical partition cluster, thereby reducing resourcesof said another workload.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein saiddynamically adjusting comprises removing attachment of the selectedchannel path from a subsystem of said I/O configuration.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein said selecting is further based on at least one ofan impact on response time to achieve specific workload goals,contention on a subsystem of said I/O configuration, availabilitycharacterstics of said channel path, and complexity of the resulting I/Oconfiguration.
 4. The method of clam 1, wherein said determiningcomprises using measured subsystem performance being within an averagetarget range in making the determination.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising projecting an impact of the adjustment on one or moresubsystems to be effected by the adjustment, prior to said dynamicallyadjusting.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising dynamicallyadjusting when the impact is acceptable.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein said plurality of channel paths include one or more channelpaths that can be added and one or more channel paths that can bedeleted, and wherein the selecting comprises choosing the channel pathfrom the plurality of channel paths which satisfies a best option, thebest option taking into consideration the I/O velocity resulting fromselecting the channel path, and wherein the selecting concurrently takesinto consideration the one or more channel paths that can be added andthe one or more channel paths that can be deleted.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said dynamically adjusting comprises moving theselected channel path from one port to another port.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the selecting is further based, in part, on an entropyindex resulting from selecting the channel path the entropy index bedetermined by adding together a total number of I/O channels andsubsystems that are interconnected in the resulting configuration. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting is further based on, forthe selected channel path: an impact to the response time to achieve aspecific workload goal; whether a destination port is busy; a resultingavailability characteristic; and a resulting entropy of the I/Oconfiguration.
 11. A system of managing input/output (I/O)configurations for a group of logical partitions of a logical partitioncluster of a computing environment, said system comprising: means fordetermining that said I/O configuration is to be adjusted, wherein saidmeans for determining comprises means for using one or more workloadgoals in making the determination, and wherein the one or more workloadgoals are associated with workloads of a logical partition cluster, thelogical partition cluster comprising a group of logical partitionsresiding on a common physical processor of said computing environment,the group of logical partitions of the logical partition clustercooperatively sharing resources of the logical partition cluster andhaving workloads and resources managed by one or more cooperatingworkload managers, said means for determining comprising means forautomatically consulting with the one or more cooperating workloadmanagers of said logical partition cluster of the computing environmentin making the determination, wherein said one or more workload goalscomprise for a workload executing within the group of logical partitionsof the logical partition cluster an expected completion time for theworkload and an importance of the workload relative to another workloadexecuting with the group of logical partitions of the logical partitioncluster, and wherein the workload and the another workload are executingin one of the same logical partition or different logical partitions ofthe group of logical partitions of the logical partition cluster; meansfor selecting a channel path from a plurality of channel paths to beused in adjusting I/O configuration of the logical partition cluster ofsaid computing environment, the selecting being based at least in parton an I/O velocity resulting from selecting the channel path; and meansfor dynamically adjusting said I/O configuration using the selectedchannel path, wherein said means for dynamically adjusting comprisesmeans for dynamically connecting the selected channel path to asubsystem of said I/O configuration, said selected channel path and saidsubsystem being associated with the workload executing within the groupof logical partitions of the logical partition cluster of said computingenvironment, and wherein the dynamically adjusting provides additionalresources to said workload, wherein said selected channel path wasremoved from the another workload executing within the group of logicalpartitions of the logical partition cluster, thereby reducing resourcesof said another workload.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein said meansfor dynamically adjusting comprises means for removing attachment of theselected channel path from a subsystem of said I/O configuration. 13.The system of claim 11, wherein said selecting is further based on atleast one of an impact on response time to achieve specific workloadgoals, contention on a subsystem of said I/O configuration, availabilitycharacteristics of said channel path, and complexity of the resultingI/O configuration.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein said means fordetermining comprises means for using measured subsystem performancebeing within an average target range in making the determination. 15.The system of claim 11, further comprising means for projecting animpact of the adjustment on one or more subsystems to be effected by theadjustment, prior to the dynamically adjusting.
 16. The system of claim15, further comprising dynamically adjusting when the impact isacceptable.
 17. A system of managing input/output (I/O) configurationsfor a group of logical partitions of a logical partition cluster of acomputing environment, said system comprising: a processor adapted todetermine that said I/O configuration is to be adjusted using one ormore workload goals, wherein the one or more workload goals areassociated with workloads of a logical partition cluster, the logicalpartition cluster comprising a group of logical partitions residing on acommon physical processor of said computing environment, the group oflogical partitions of the logical partition cluster cooperativelysharing resources of the logical partition cluster and having workloadsand resources managed by one or more cooperating workload managers, saidprocessor being adapted to automatically consult with the one or morecooperating workload managers of said logical partition cluster of thecomputing environment in making the determination, wherein said one ormore workload goals comprise for a workload executing within the groupof logical partitions of the logical partition cluster an expectedcompletion time for the workload and an importance of the workloadrelative to another workload executing within the group of logicalpartitions of the logical partition cluster, and wherein the workloadand the another workload are executing in one of the same logicalpartition or different logical partitions of the group of logicalpartitions of the logical partition cluster; wherein the processor isfurther adapted to select a channel path from a plurality of channelpaths to be used in adjusting I/O configuration of the logical partitioncluster of said computing environment, the selecting being based atleast in part on an I/O velocity resulting from selecting the channelpath; and wherein the processor is further adapted to dynamically adjustsaid I/O configuration using the selected channel path, wherein saiddynamically adjusting comprises dynamically connecting the selectedchannel path to a subsystem of said I/O configuration, said selectedchannel path and said subsystem being associated with the workloadexecuting within the group of logical partitions of the logicalpartition cluster of said computing environment, and wherein thedynamically adjusting provides additional resources to said workload,wherein said selected channel path was removed from the another workloadexecuting within the group of logical partitions of the logicalpartition cluster, thereby reducing resources of said another workload.18. At least one program storage device readable by a computer, tangiblyembodying at least one program of instructions executable by thecomputer to perform, when executing on the computer, a method ofmanaging input/output (I/O) configurations for a group of logicalpartitions of a logical partition cluster of a computing environment,said method comprising: determining that said I/O configuration is to beadjusted, wherein said determining comprises using one or more workloadgoals in making the determination, and wherein the one or more workloadgoals are associated with workloads of a logical partition cluster, thelogical partition cluster comprising a group of logical partitionsresiding on a common physical processor of said computing environment,the group of logical partitions of the logical partition clustercooperatively sharing resources of the logical partition cluster andhaving workloads and resources managed by one or more cooperatingworkload managers, said determining comprising automatically consultingwith the one or more cooperating workload managers of said logicalpartition cluster of the computing environment in making thedetermination, wherein said one or more workload goals comprise for aworkload executing within the group of logical partitions of the logicalpartition cluster an expected completion time for the workload and animportance of the workload relative to another workload executing withinthe group of logical partitions of the logical partition cluster, andwherein the workload and the another workload are executing in one ofthe same logical partition or different logical partitions of the groupof logical partitions of the logical partition cluster; selecting achannel path from a plurality of channel paths to be used in adjustingI/O configuration of the logical partition cluster of said computingenvironment, said selecting being based at least in part on an I/Ovelocity resulting from selecting the channel path; and dynamicallyadjusting said I/O configuration using the selected channel path,wherein said dynamically adjusting comprises dynamically connecting theselected channel path to a subsystem of said I/O configuration, saidselected channel path and said subsystem being associated with theworkload executing within the group of logical partitions of the logicalpartition cluster of said computing environment, and wherein thedynamically adjusting provides additional resources to said workload,wherein said selected channel path was removed from the another workloadexecuting within the group of logical partitions of the logicalpartition cluster, thereby reducing resources of said another workload.19. The at least one program storage device of claim 18, wherein saiddynamically adjusting comprises removing attachment of the selectedchannel path from a subsystem of said I/O configuration.
 20. The atleast one program storage device of claim 18, wherein said selecting isfurther based on at least one of an impact on response time to achievespecific workload goals, contention on a subsystem of said I/Oconfiguration, availability characteristics of said channel path, andcomplexity of the resulting I/O configuration.
 21. The at least oneprogram storage device of claim 18, wherein said determining comprisesusing measured subsystem performance being within an averaged targetrange in making the determination.
 22. The at least one program storagedevice of claim 18, wherein said method further comprises projecting animpact of the adjustment on one or more subsystems to be effected by theadjustment, prior to said dynamically adjusting.
 23. The at least oneprogram storage device of claim 22, wherein said method furthercomprises dynamically adjusting when the impact is acceptable.